It’s no surprise that the menswear designer Siki Im used to be an
architect. His presentations are nothing less than spectacles, as
proved by his memorable Fall 2010 showing, with its postapocalyptic
cubicle mise-en-scène and noise rock performance. For Spring 2011,
Siki showed in a working parking garage in West Chelsea, the models in
their rebellious, tailored looks lined up before a row of silent
hulking cars. “These cars were already here,” he joked, “but we edited
them for color.” Color found its way into the collection for the first
time as well, with full looks in cream and gray mixed in with the
black. “I felt like everyone was expecting me to do only black,” he
said, “so I wanted to do a twist.” The clothes were loose in cut and
felt almost airy, a change from the tight bindings that made
appearances in his previous collections. Siki explained that he chose
to show in the garage because of its “homogenous, genderless” quality,
reflecting the alienating design of urban public housing he saw as a
child in Cologne. “I grew up as an immigrant in Europe,” he said, “so
I’ve always been interested in the ideas of integration and how
immigrants get isolated.”